What has been more contested is the context of the murder.

Was it a chance encounter with a bandit or a raider?

An ambush by personal enemies?

A ritual killing?

A combat encounter in which Ötzi was fleeing?

A politically motivated assassination?

Various researchers have proposed various scenarios, and none can be definitively confirmed from the available evidence.

The hand wounds that suggest a recent fighting encounter before the murder raise the possibility that Ötzi had been in conflict with others in the days or weeks before his death — perhaps with the person who eventually killed him, or with others entirely.